'Do you have any questions?' What should be the answer?

Hi All, I had a situational interview yesterday, I thought, they would give me some situation and ask 'how do you handle it?', but he asked me only 2 simple questions. Tell me about your technical background, what are your weaknesses. So, that was it. Now I need to go for a face-to-face interview. Please help me to answer this question. When they ask me 'Do you have any questions?', what should I ask? Thanks.

Ask things you want to know about the company. Here are some questions I often ask... What is the working environment like? What are the company for the next 6 months? next year? next two years? What are the working hours like? What is the turnover rate? What are the benefits? What support is there for education and continued learning? For the project you see me on short term... What can you tell me about it? Who will I be working with? What are the long term plans after the release? What do you like best about working here? What is the worst part of working here? Who are your customers? What trends do you see in the market? --Mark

Adithya Rayaprolu
Ranch Hand

Joined: Jun 19, 2001
Posts: 137

posted May 08, 2004 22:25:00

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Hi Mark, Thanks so much for the reply. While doing face-to-face interviews, what I observe is that the interviewer doesn't talk for initial 3-4 minutes, he/she acts as if he/she is going thru my resume(they may be really going thru my resume). I feel very uncomfortable during this period, I don't know what to do, should I speak something then or ask about project? Please suggest something. How should I start the conversation? Thanks so much.

I feel very uncomfortable during this period, I don't know what to do, should I speak something then or ask about project?

The way I see it, is they are the interviewer, and the ball is in their court. It is not your responsibility to strike up conversation just for the sake of filling in the silence. Let them drive until they turn it over to you. As far as what questions to ask...You: Of all the employees you've personally recommended for hire, if you were to look at the top 10%, what are the qualities/skills they exhibit which make them successful at [company name]? Depending on how the interviewer responds, you may be able to potray some personal initiative and confidence by letting her know that the next time someone asks her to think about the top 10% of employees she's hired...you want to be on that list. This worked rather well for me. Good luck.

I don't recall ever having 3-4 minutes of that awkwardness. I've never heard it taking more than a minute. I would use that time to look around the room for something that would strike up some small talk later in the interview. Maybe pull out a list of questions you plan to ask and give them a quick glance-over. At any rate, I agree that the ball is in their court; they should be the first to speak.

A good workman is known by his tools.

Mark Herschberg
Sheriff

Joined: Dec 04, 2000
Posts: 6037

posted May 09, 2004 17:20:00

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Originally posted by Adithya Rayaprolu:

Thanks so much for the reply. While doing face-to-face interviews, what I observe is that the interviewer doesn't talk for initial 3-4 minutes, he/she acts as if he/she is going thru my resume(they may be really going thru my resume).

I rarely see this. Either they are going through your resume, or they want to see how you'll act (e.g. can he handle an uncomfortable situation). As Marc pointed out, it's a good time to browse the office. Look at this books, photos, magazines, how the office is arranged, etc. It gives you clues about the person. If you're in a conference room, where there's not much to look at, you could also have your own copy of your resume and look it over, maybe try rewording things in your mind to constantly improve it. --Mark